For centuries, unicorn digging took centre stage in this cave and made the Unicorn Cave famous far beyond the borders of the Harz Mountains. The bones of the "Unicornu fossile", which were ground into powder, were coveted throughout Europe as medicine.
We now know that the bones found here are the fossilised remains of thousands of cave bears and other extinct animals that lived here in the southern Harz region before and during the last ice age. Scientific excavations have shown that the cave was frequented by Neanderthals for a long time 100,000 years ago. Visitors follow in the footsteps of famous explorers such as Leibniz, Goethe, Cuvier, Virchow and Löns through the cave's narrow corridors and large halls.
The largest visitor cave in the Western Harz can be reached via the B27/243 via Herzberg, OT Scharzfeld (own free forest car park, also for buses); from Scharzfeld railway station in 20 minutes (signposted hiking trail). The railway station is Barbis - Bad Lauterberg. House Einhorn / OT Scharzfeld 37412 Herzberg am Harz Address: Office Einhornhöhle, Im Strange 12, 37520 Osterode am Harz Phone: 05521 / 997559 Fax: 05521 / 997558 e-mail: mail@einhornhoehle.de Internet: www.einhornhoehle.de Opening hours: 27 Dec to 06 Jan - winter season - daily - 11:00 - 15:00 01 April to 30 Oct - summer season - Tue. to Sun. - 11:00 - 17:00
For centuries, unicorn digging took centre stage in this cave and made the Unicorn Cave famous far beyond the borders of the Harz Mountains. The bones of the "Unicornu fossile", which were ground into powder, were coveted throughout Europe as medicine.
We now know that the bones found here are the fossilised remains of thousands of cave bears and other extinct animals that lived here in the southern Harz region before and during the last ice age. Scientific excavations have shown that the cave was frequented by Neanderthals for a long time 100,000 years ago. Visitors follow in the footsteps of famous explorers such as Leibniz, Goethe, Cuvier, Virchow and Löns through the cave's narrow corridors and large halls.
The largest visitor cave in the Western Harz can be reached via the B27/243 via Herzberg, OT Scharzfeld (own free forest car park, also for buses); from Scharzfeld railway station in 20 minutes (signposted hiking trail). The railway station is Barbis - Bad Lauterberg. House Einhorn / OT Scharzfeld 37412 Herzberg am Harz Address: Office Einhornhöhle, Im Strange 12, 37520 Osterode am Harz Phone: 05521 / 997559 Fax: 05521 / 997558 e-mail: mail@einhornhoehle.de Internet: www.einhornhoehle.de Opening hours: 27 Dec to 06 Jan - winter season - daily - 11:00 - 15:00 01 April to 30 Oct - summer season - Tue. to Sun. - 11:00 - 17:00